The Republican Party of Minnesota has officially integrated the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism into its formal guiding principles, JNS reported.
The language, approved during the state party's May convention in Duluth, mirrors a proposal from the platform committee's 2026 report.
“We unequivocally condemn antisemitism in all forms, reject any association with antisemitic ideologies or individuals, and define antisemitism in accordance with the working definition set forth by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, as set forth in executive order 13899 on ‘Combating Antisemitism’ and as embraced in the 2023 ‘U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.’"
The IHRA working definition offers a comprehensive description of antisemitism in its various forms, including hatred and discrimination against Jews, Holocaust denial and, sometimes controversially, the way antisemitism relates to the ways criticism of Israel is expressed.
Dozens of US states and Washington, D.C., have already adopted or endorsed the IHRA definition, though Minnesota is not one of those states as of now.
Sam Markstein, the national political director for the Republican Jewish Coalition, expressed strong support for the Minnesota GOP move in a statement to JNS.
“We commend Minnesota Republicans for adopting the IHRA working definition of antisemitism in its 2026 platform," Markstein said. “The IHRA definition of antisemitism is an essential tool for effectively identifying and confronting Jew-hatred. This is what leadership on combating antisemitism looks like - and it stands in sharp contrast to a Democratic Party that is increasingly hostile to American Jews."
Countries that have adopted the definition include Canada, Germany, Britain, Austria, Romania, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
In 2017, the European Parliament voted to adopt a resolution calling on member states and their institutions to apply the IHRA definition.